Offi cially open
Last month, Citizen Machinery UK’s West Midlands-based ‘Turning Centre of Excellence’ saw its offi cial
opening, with the ribbon-cutting undertaken by Citizen Machinery president Keiichi Nakajima; he also
undertook the traditional planting of a cherry tree in the grounds of the new facility
The UK operation’s deputy managing director, Darren Wilkins,
indicated that the new £3 million, 1,660 m building located
in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, had fostered a positive mood.
“The opening of this facility has captured the imagination of the
whole of UK manufacturing. Long before completion, we were
receiving inquiries about the enhanced offer and I believe the
decision by Citizen to invest in this facility has helped instill added
con dence in our Midlands-based customers. This, together with
our unique LFV low-frequency vibration technology, has been
instrumental in Citizen Machinery UK becoming the established UK
market leader in bar turning and further cementing Citizen as the
European market leader in sliding-head technology.
“If further proof were needed of the new centre’s impact on the
industrial machining sector, then let me add this…whilst today
marks our of cial opening, just last month June we held an industry
open event, during which the centre attracted more than 300 visitors
and business worth more than £2 million was completed.”
(See Machinery June 2019, p14 – https://is.gd/yemale.)
This latest investment in UK facilities builds on the company’s 45
years of representation in the UK, which commenced in 1974
through NC Engineering, as Keiichi Nakajima noted in his speech:
“NC Engineering has always been an important part of the Citizen
Group and over the last 45 years has played a key role in selling
Citizen machines into the UK market.
“In 2006, NC Engineering became a wholly
owned subsidiary of Citizen Group. What
The new 12 mm bar capacity Cincom L12 Type X announced at
the offi cial opening is intended primarily for production of dental
abutments and implants, but is also well suited to manufacturing parts
for the medical industry in general. For effi cient abutment machining, a
minimum of fi ve rear-facing endworking tool positions, including driven
stations, are required, as well as the addition of a Y2-axis to the X2
and Z2 movements on the counter-spindle to match the three degrees
of freedom on the main spindle. This level of functionality was only
previously available on larger machines, starting at 16 mm. Citizen's LFV
chipbreaking software is optional but recommended for exotic materials
Citizen Machinery president Keiichi Nakajima plants a
cherry tree, as is traditional. Inset: Citizen Machinery UK
managing director Edward James takes part, too
34 August 2019 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets
/yemale.)
/www.machinery.co.uk